Of Puppets and Pawprints
by Smash41KMF
Summary: It had always been her calling to help those in need, human or otherwise. So, he really shouldn't have been too surprised, but... wasn't this all a bit too cliché? A wintery SasoSaku story in which there is a rescued kitten, a jealous house-husband-to-be Sasori, and plenty of fluff and feels to go around. Modern AU. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto/Naruto Shippuden and I would be very sad if anyone stole this adorable plot bunny. Also, this story is a Modern AU, so no complaining.**

**Title: **Of Puppets and Paw Prints

**Rating:** T

**Genre: **Humor/Romance

**Summary: **It had always been her calling to help those in need, human or otherwise. So, he really shouldn't have been too surprised, but... wasn't this all a bit _too_ _cliché_? A wintery SasoSaku story in which there is a kitten rescued before a snowstorm, a jealous house-husband-to-be Sasori, and plenty of fluff and feels to go around. Modern AU.

**Posted: 10/19/2019**

* * *

Ponytail whipping wildly behind her, Dr. Haruno Sakura burst through the employee entrance of Konoha General's Emergency Department and hastily scanned the room. It was barely 2am on the day before Christmas Eve, but the ED was already overflowing with medical providers and assistants, alike - twice the amount she was accustomed to seeing during any regular shift. Something big had happened.

Making a beeline for the nurse's station, Sakura continued to survey the crowd of bustling nightshift workers for a familiar face. There was only one person she knew who could keep this level of chaos contained. She had to be some-

"Haruno!"

Narrowly avoiding a collision with one of the nightshift nurses who was rushing past her with a crash cart, Sakura turned in the direction of the booming voice. A second later, she locked eyes with the hospital director, Senju Tsunade. Then, the former cardiothoracic surgeon beckoned Sakura over with one hand before turning her attention back to the grim-faced paramedic standing beside her.

_'That's strange,'_ Sakura thought as she hastily side-stepped around another ED tech as he hurried by with an armful of IV bags,_ 'EMS doesn't typically stick around after handing-off their patients...'_

Sakura suddenly felt her stomach drop and she quickened her advance across the room.

_'...Unless they know the patient.'_

Taking a deep breath, Sakura steeled herself as she approached her honey-eyed mentor and the lumbering paramedic standing beside her. The paramedic, whom she immediately recognized as Hoshigaki Kisame, one of Central Konoha Fire Department's finest, offered her a small wave and a tight smile; neither of which were reassuring.

"Tsunade-sama, Hoshigaki-san," she greeted respectfully, bowing briefly to her former mentor and nodding to the paramedic before getting straight to the point. "What happened?"

Kisame sighed tiredly, "Car accident. Drunk driver ran a red light and struck a sedan in intersection and pushed it into another car..."

Sakura frowned, multiple vehicle accidents were never pleasant cases. However, Kisame's next words chilled her to the bone.

"... all university students on their way home for Christmas."

Teeth clenched, emerald eyes flickered up to meet a hardened amber gaze before Sakura asked, "Konohamaru and Moegi?"

Tsunade shook her head and Sakura nodded, grateful that she wouldn't be seeing either half of Konoha University's cutest freshman couple in her operating room. However, the young lovebirds were not the only university students on her mind.

"What about Udon and Hanabi?"

"No."

"And Haru? Gaara?"

When the blonde director shook her head again, Sakura felt a wave of relief wash over her.

_"Thank Kami."_

Tsunade nodded in agreement before returning their focus to the situation at hand.

After all, there was a reason she had paged Sakura on her day off.

They had a job to do. And Tsunade needed her best staff to be on-duty to get it done.

"So, what can I do to help?"

Smiling faintly from his place beside the previous ED director, Kisame watched as Tsunade's stern gaze softened slightly at the sight of her former apprentice's determination.

"Shizune has been in OR 2 for the past two hours, Ino is currently circulating for her, she can brief you and get you scrubbed-in to assist." Tsunade answered as she glanced at the clipboard in her hands and the list of surgeons currently scheduled in the operating rooms.

"Shizune, OR 2, find Ino, anything else?" Sakura asked. When Tsunade shook her head, Sakura nodded and set off.

Watching the young woman stride away with purpose, Tsunade sighed tiredly, "I miss having that energy."

Beside her, the blue-haired paramedic chortled softly before lifting his disposable coffee cup to his lips and taking a large sip, "Feeling old, Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade shot the man, and his coffee, a baleful look before responding tersely, "You can either stay and make yourself useful or you can _leave_, Hoshigaki. Your shift ended two hours ago."

Clicking his tongue, Kisame downed the last of his cold coffee and tossed the empty cup in a nearby trashbin. He then turned towards the staff exit and unclipped a silver carabiner from his belt. Heading for the door, he raised his arm jingled his car keys as he called over his shoulder, "I'll be back an hour with more coffee; Chief would kill me if I left you alone right now."

Pretending not to be secretly touched by the truth behind the medic's statement, Tsunade scowled half-heartedly at Kisame's retreating figure before lowering her gaze to the diamond ring on her left ring finger. She sighed to herself, "Jiraiya, you idiot."

* * *

Thirteen hours, eight surgeons, twelve residents, fourteen surgical technicians, and countless nurses and medical assistants later, they had six stable patients.

"I'm think I'm about ready to pass out," Ino moaned quietly as they trudged slowly towards Sakura's office.

Sakura smiled at her best friend.

"You did a great job, Ino. Thank you."

Yawning loudly, Ino casually waved away Sakura's gratitude. Instead, she slung an arm over the pink-haired physician's shoulders and leaned tiredly against her. When Sakura obligingly wrapped an arm around Ino's waist, the blonde leaned in closer and awkwardly rested her head on Sakura's shoulder.

Laughing softly, Sakura jostled the blonde with her shoulder, "Come on, Ino. Can't you at least wait until we get to my office to fall asleep?"

"Hmmm, but Sa-ku-raaaa, I've been awake for the past 26 _hours._ I just wanna sleeeeeeep."

Rolling her eyes at the dramatic blonde, Sakura shifted the weight of Ino's head on her shoulder again. "We're almost there," she said gently, "If you can stay awake until then, I'll buy you lunch."

Predictably, Ino lifted her head off of Sakura's shoulder and made a conscious effort to pick up her dragging feet. The exhausted nurse even made an attempt to stifle another monstrous yawn as they drew closer to their destination. Her determination made Sakura smile. After all, it was a little-known fact that Ino, despite how vocal she was about dieting and her near-religious commitment to HIIT workouts and hot yoga, was a food-motivated individual. As such, it wasn't unusual for Sakura to use Ino's love of food to her advantage; because, even though Ino was an _expensive_ date, Sakura knew that she would end with a new favorite restaurant or café by the end of it.

"Sakuraaaaa," Ino complained again, the adrenaline-boost from the idea of a free lunch having already worn off. "Aren't we there yet?"

Letting out a small sigh, Sakura grabbed Ino by the hand and pulled the blonde around the nearest corner and about halfway down the hallway before stopping in front of a cherry-stained door. Pulling her ID badge from the breast pocket of her coat, Sakura unlocked the door and quickly pushed it open before dragging her zombie of a best friend inside the office. Shutting the door behind them, Sakura carefully guided Ino around her desk and over to the small loveseat situated below the window on the far wall.

"Now just lay there and sleep," Sakura commanded gently as she placed her hands on the blonde's shoulders and forced her to lay down. "I still have some patients to see, but you can stay here and sleep until you're feeling well enough to eat and head home, okay?"

When Ino nodded, Sakura pulled the light throw blanket off the back of the sofa and draped it over the semi-conscious blonde. She then sat down on the edge of the small couch and carefully freed the nurse's long hair from its tight ponytail. Running her fingers gently through the slightly tangled tresses, Sakura smiled down at Ino and asked, "Do you need anything before I go? Do you want me to call Choji?"

"No," Ino replied softly, yawning wide as her eyes started to drift shut. "He doesn't get off work until six."

"All right, Ino." With that, Sakura stood and carefully gathered her paperwork off of her desk before heading towards the door. Opening the door as quietly as possible, she called over her shoulder before slipping out, "I'll be back in an hour."

* * *

Yawning softly, Sakura glanced at her watch as she turned down the hallway and strode away from the last room on her list of patient rounds.

_04:02pm_

She sighed.

The incident from this morning was one of the biggest emergencies to hit Konoha General's Emergency Department in the six years that she'd been working there. It truly was a miracle that they had managed to stabilize all six victims.

Nevertheless she was exhausted.

Actually,_ everyone_ was exhausted. After all, in addition to the large number of night float staff whom had stayed to help, several of the daytime staff members and off-duty providers had also been called in throughout the early morning to help fill the gaps and take over patient rounds for the providers that were working the trauma cases.

"If it were up to me, I'd give the whole lot of you the _week_ off."

Startled by the sudden voice, Sakura looked up to find the Commissioner of Konoha's Fire Department leaning against the wall outside of her office. She offered him a tired smile and was about to ask what he was doing there when he raised a steaming cup of coffee into view. Her smile widened.

"Thank you, Jiraiya-sama" she said thankfully, taking the proffered coffee and tucking her clipboard under her arm. Holding a finger to her lips, she added, "If Ino is awake, we can chat inside. Hang on."

Quietly opening the door with her badge, Sakura took a quick peek inside, half-expecting the blonde to still be out cold. Instead, she was surprised to see Ino awake and nursing her own cup of coffee. Noticing the door open, Ino looked up and smiled as Sakura entered with Jiraiya in tow.

"Sakura, this man is a _saint_, where did you find him?" Ino asked before taking another sip of the luxurious caffeinated beverage.

Sakura and Jiraiya both chuckled as one made himself comfortable in the nearest chair while the other made her way over to the desk to kick off her shoes and set her coffee and patient files. Then, moving over to sit on the edge of the settee, Sakura pressed the back of her hand to Ino's forehead.

"You'll have to ask Tsunade-shishou where she found him," she replied with another small laugh, "because he was nothing more than a freeloader when I met him."

"Hey!" shouted the older man in fake indignation, "That's not true! I was recovering from a work-related injury!"

The two younger women laughed at the small pout on the man's face, before Sakura finally chose to address the elephant in the room.

"Have you spoken to Tsunade-sama, yet?"

The white-maned man let out a heavy sigh, his gaze full of concern for his stubborn but sensitive significant other.

"I hardly got a word in before those big-wigs sulked into her office like it was a funeral procession," he grumbled, taking a sip of his coffee before looking at the two girls sitting on the small sofa. "I'm not sure how or when I'll be able to check-in on her."

Sakura frowned slightly, before standing to grab her coffee and pull her desk chair around to sit near the older man. After spending most of her time in residency living with and working under Tsunade, Sakura had come to learn a great deal about the man before her. And so she knew better than most how hard this day must have been for him. After all, on one hand, he was the fire commissioner to a system that serviced the entire city, meaning he was also heavily involved with the Emergency Medical Services that operated in tandem with the Konoha General Emergency Department. Meanwhile, on the other, he was a loving, caring husband to the woman who had the responsibility of running the largest hospital in the city.

Reaching over, Sakura placed a hand over his and gave it a small, encouraging squeeze. Jiraiya replied with a grateful smile.

Ino, however, whether due to fatigue or caffeine, watched the exchange for a moment before setting her coffee cup on the floor, jumping to her feet and marching over to seat herself criss-crossed in the other chair beside Jiraiya. Then, leaning forward with her elbows propped on her knees and a scheming twinkle in her eyes, she said, "I might have an idea."

* * *

After listening for an hour to Ino and Jiraiya discuss various ways to distract the hospital sponsors and kidnap Tsunade to an exotic getaway for some much needed R&R, Sakura had decided that her blonde friend was healthy enough to leave. And so, after expressing much gratitude to the fire commissioner for her coffee and promising Ino a free lunch date, Sakura shut the door to her office and collapsed into her swivel chair.

Then, eyeing the pile of patient files, provider reviews and performance evaluation forms on her desk, Sakura groaned. Reaching for her coffee, the pinkette rested her elbow on the oak desk and propped her cheek in the palm of her hand before grabbing the first stack of papers and a ball-point pen.

It wasn't until she felt a hand on her shoulder and someone gently shaking her that she realized she had fallen asleep.

Eyes suddenly wide, Sakura sat up straight and cast a panicked look down at the official document in front of her, praying to kami that she hadn't accidentally drawn a line across it before falling asleep. After several seconds passed of her scrutinizing the document for any stray ink marks, Sakura was relieved to find that none existed and that her pen was, in fact, still capped.

Sighing in relief, Sakura lifted her head to look at her unlikely companion.

"Why are you still here?" Sasuke grouched, his arms crossed over his chest as he glared unhappily down his nose at her.

Glancing at the clock, Sakura deflated slightly.

_05:25pm_

If she was going to fall asleep at work, she had at least hoped she would have woken up closer to the end of her shift.

"You and I both know that Tsunade-sama ordered all the surgeons who operated on the trauma patients this morning to go home and rest, Sakura."

Peering up at the nephrologist, Sakura stuck out her tongue childishly. She was far too tired to take him seriously today.

Nevertheless, the physician stared at her for another few seconds before heaving a sigh and surrendering. Raising a hand, Uchiha Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. "Let me guess, you also probably haven't eaten lunch, right?"

"...or breakfast..."

"_Sakura!_"

After seeing the look of surprise, followed by concern and then annoyance, that flickered across the normally grumpy man's face Sakura almost regretted speaking. However, even though she could already feel the impending lecture she was about to receive about the importance of self-care and _eating_, she couldn't help appreciate that he'd gone out of his way to check on her. Mostly because, while Sasuke had a wonderful bedside manner with his patients, he usually looked rather bored by all other conversations and social interactions. It was only after years of knowing the closet mother-hen of their mutual friend group that Sakura could see the true hints of genuine concern in his eyes.

It was sweet of him and, just as she was about to thank him for his concern, her phone rang.

Recognizing the caller by his personalized ringtone, Sakura shot Sasuke a hesitant glance. The dark-haired man grunted and leaned his back against the wall, "Answer it. He'll probably just call again if you don't."

Smiling slightly and thanking her lucky stars for Sasuke's rare patience, Sakura snatched up her phone and quickly answered the call before it could get sent to her voicemail.

_"Hey."_

"Hey, yourself." Sakura replied, tucking the phone between her ear and shoulder as she shut the open file on her desk and moved it back on top the small pile of paperwork.

_"I wanted to check on you since you were called in so early this morning. I hope I'm not interrupting anything."_ Sakura smiled softly, he always so straight to the point. Glancing over at Sasuke as he moved over towards the door, Sakura paused. Thankfully, Sasuke was one step ahead of her and mouthed that he would be back later before slipping out of her office and quietly closing the door behind him. _"Sakura?"_

"Yes! Hi! Sorry, I was just talking to Sasuke about something," she replied.

_"Ah, should I call back later?"_

Sakura shook her head, "No, no. We just finished. What's up?"

_"I just got off work and it looks like it might storm. Do you want me to pick you up?"_ Smiling at his thoughtfulness, Sakura moved over towards the window. Sure enough, dark clouds were beginning to gather in the sky and she could see people on the streets below heading towards shelter.

"That's weird, the weather report from this morning wasn't predicting any snow," she mumbled absently to herself.

_"What time does your shift end?"_ Eying the wall clock grumpily, Sakura sighed.

"Technically...six."

_"Technically? Sakura, your pager went off at 1:30 this morning and you weren't even supposed to be working today. They don't actually expect you to work a full sixteen-hour shift, do they?"_ She could hear the irritation in his voice, he always hated it when she was forced to work for several hours outside of her scheduled surgical shifts.

"I know, but this morning was really serious and the night staff had to pull overtime and most of the day staff came in early like me... I couldn't just _leave_. What if one of my patients needed me during my normal shift hours and I wasn't here?"

_"Sakura, did Tsunade-sama tell you to stay to cover your normal shift?"_ Dammit.

Sakura grumbled her defeat, "No..."

_"Come home, Sakura."_

Sakura groaned softly. If he hadn't fallen in love with engineering prosthetics, Sasori would have made a damn good lawyer. "Babe, I want to, I really really do, but I have so much paperwork to do now because of this morning's incident."

_"And you can't bring any of it home."_

Sakura sighed and reached for her cold coffee. She took a small sip before responding, "No, I'm sorry."

Sakura heard Sasori sigh over the phone, _"What do you want for dinner?"_

Sakura chuckled. _'Smart man.'_

"Tempura?" she asked hopefully, already knowing what he was going to say in response.

_"Don't blame me if you break-out or get fat."_ Sakura rolled her eyes at his jab.

"Excuse me?" She responded, taking mock offense to his comment.

_"You heard me. Shrimp?"_ Crafty bastard.

"Yes."

_"Okay. Let me know if you want a ride."_

"Okay. I'll see you at home."

_"Be safe."_

Grinning like an idiot, Sakura tapped the "end call" icon on her phone and placed the device back in her desk drawer. A moment later, the door opened and Sakura found herself face-to-face with a smug-looking Sasuke.

"Stop smiling like a lovesick fool, it's gross." Sasuke scolded teasingly as he sauntered into the small office and reclaimed his spot leaning against the wall beside Sakura's desk.

Scowling playfully at the man, Sakura retorted, "Oh, no need to be jealous, Sasuke-_kun_, I'm sure you could talk Naruto into calling you during the day to whisper sweet nothings in your ear."

Sakura grinned as she watched the proud man's cheeks turn red, enjoying the sight of the thoroughly flustered Uchiha before continuing, "Indeed, I wonder what Gai-sensei would say about such 'young love', ne, Sasuke_-kun?"_

This time, Sasuke glared at her for a moment before pushing himself off the wall and advancing towards her. Raising a pink eyebrow, Sakura watched carefully as Sasuke rounded her desk and grabbed the back of her office chair. A second later, Sakura yelped when the man pulled her away from her desk and reached down to open the drawer where she kept her laptop bag. Withdrawing the bag, he set it on smooth wooden surface and spoke.

"I'd say he'd be heartbroken by the thought of paperwork keeping two lovebirds apart, don't you?"

"Sasuke, just what do you think you're doing?" Sakura demanded angrily, watching as her friend lifted the pile of provider reviews and performance evaluations off her desk. "That's confidential!"

Sending her a bland look, Sasuke waved the stack of blank papers in the air tauntingly, taking great joy in her ire, before speaking.

"Tsunade just sent out an email saying that she doesn't give a shit about the reviews and performance evaluations of anyone involved in this morning's incident. You guys basically pulled off a miracle; so, unless someone really royally messed-up, you don't have to fill _any_ of these out, Sakura." Sasuke said, before briefly paging through the empty sheets and adding, "Besides, these are all empty, so there's no way this would be breaking any confidentiality policies."

Deflating slightly, especially since she now had only a fraction of the initial amount of paperwork to do, Sakura casted a weary glance at the remaining patient files on her desk. Catching her gaze, Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Shizune was the other cardiothoracic surgeon operating this morning, but since you were the one to run your rounds as the dayshift surgeon, assuming you have your notes from your rounds written down in your charts, she said that you can leave the files for the patients that she operated on on her desk."

Sakura gasped, "That would cut my workload in half!"

"Indeed, it would," Sasuke said as he picked Sakura's coat off the back of her chair and held it open expectantly. "It also means that you can go home to your fiancé."

Smiling at him gratefully, Sakura wheeled herself over to the wall and unplugged her laptop charger before gathering up the wires and carefully packing away her laptop. She then stood and moved over to her desk, tucking away her half of the patient files in a locked drawer. After letting Sasuke help her into her coat, Sakura grabbed her bag, keys, phone, and Shizune's half of the patient files before flicking off the lights and following Sasuke out of her office.

"I have to admit," Sakura began, waving politely to a few of the passing nurses as they made their way towards the nurse's station, "I'm surprised to see you working today. Isn't this your and Naruto's traveling day?"

Hands in the pockets of his white coat, Sasuke shrugged nonchalantly. "With Itachi living in Konoha again, my parents said that they wanted to spend the holidays here instead of having us travel to see them."

Shooting a glance at the thin, rose-gold engagement ring on Sakura's left hand, Sasuke then asked, "Do you and Sasori have any special plans for the holidays?"

Shaking her head, Sakura smiled. "We had plans to fly out to Suna this morning, but now..." Sasuke offered her a sympathetic smile. He even reached over and gave her an awkward pat on the shoulder as they neared the nurse's station.

Sakura chuckled at her friend's attempt to comfort her before handing over Shizune's half of the files to Shizune's nurse with the instructions to have them put on the older surgeon's desk. Then, leaning over the counter, Sakura snatched one of the shared Santa hats off the her nurse's desk and turned back towards Sasuke. Grinning evilly, Sakura reached up and carefully positioned the red cap over the man's spiky hair, cheerfully flipping the white pom-pom over his shoulder as she smiled. "Perfect."

Frowning at her childishness, Sasuke sighed in frustration, _"GO HOME, Sakura."_

Laughing merrily at his Scrooge-ness, Sakura poked the faux fur that lined Sasuke's forehead before turning towards the staff exit.

"Thank you, Sasuke," she said gently, her green eyes softening when the stoic man gave her a small smile in return, "and have a wonderful holiday."

Sasuke raised a hand in farewell before turning his attention to his own fast-approaching resident. Heaving a sigh at the sight of the large stack of files clutched against the younger man's chest, Sasuke resigned himself to yet another long day at Konoha General Hospital.

* * *

**~So, initially, I had this planned to be all in one large post, but I've been dying to post it (and it's not completely finished), so I've decided to break it up into smaller sections and post one (occasionally two) chapters at a time. Just because I want to get this out there and not have most of it sitting around while I try to finish the story.**

**~Anyways, I hope you all enjoy it! Let me know what y'all think!**

**~Smash**


	2. Chapter 2

**Posted: 10/19/2019**

* * *

After parting ways with Sasuke, Sakura continued on her way around the nurse's station towards the staff exit, passing various assistants and other providers as she went.

"Thank you, have a wonderful holiday, as well!" Sakura said politely as yet another nurse bid her farewell for the weekend.

She had just about reached the automatic double doors when one of the older midwives rushed in, frantically shaking a thin layer of snow from the lining of her hood. It was only when the woman looked up that she noticed the young cardiothoracic surgeon standing nearby, staring wide-eyed out at the snow laying down steadily on the sidewalk outside.

"Good evening, Haruno-sama!" she chimed, sliding her heavy coat off of her shoulders and hanging it in her assigned locker.

Startled out of her reverie, Sakura looked back at the woman and replied with a smile, "Oh! Good evening, Sana-san."

Sana smiled warmly at the young doctor, having already noticed the woman's cautious glance outside.

"Haruno-sama," she asked, smiling knowingly at the pinkette. "Didn't you know it was going to snow?" Sana chuckled when the woman in question answered with a sheepish smile. Shaking her head, the nurse opened her locker and pulled an unopened package of hand-warmers from her coat pocket. She then held them out to the pink-haired medical provider with an encouraging smile.

"Oh, Sana-san, you don't need to do that!" Sakura exclaimed, waving her hands in an attempt to dissuade the older woman. "Won't you need those in the morning?"

Sana Keiri smiled. She had always admired the young doctor for her kindness and willingness to help, but there were moments when she wished the woman learned to lean on others a little more. Shaking her head, the brunnette stepped forward and carefully placed the package in Sakura's hand and closed her fingers around it tightly. When Sakura opened her mouth to argue, Sana gave her a stern look.

"Nonsense, my husband has the day off tomorrow so he can come and pick me up," she said with a smile before wagging a finger at the petite woman. "You, however, walk here every day. So, just take these and don't complain."

Laughing softly at the kind woman's pushiness, Sakura bowed in gratitude. "Thank you, Sana-san."

Sana smiled fondly. Then, as if remembering something important, she asked, "Oh, that's right! Haurno-sama, don't you have the next few days off?" When Sakura nodded, the midwife grinned slyly, "So then, do you and the mister have any plans?"

Blushing slightly, Sakura waved her hands placatingly. "Sana-san, please!" she cried softly, glancing left and right to make sure no one else was around to hear. "I'm trying to keep the engagement on the down-low. At least until we've had time to tell his grandmother."

Sana rolled her eyes at the fidgety practitioner. "I still don't understand why you won't just call Chiyo-sama to tell her."

Sakura shrugged, focusing her attention on opening the package of hand-warmers Sana had given her. "Sasori wants to tell her in-person," she said, rubbing the pair of square hand-warmers between her hands, "We even had plans to visit her in Suna this weekend. Now, however..."

Sana nodded in understanding before glancing at the clock. "Well, I have a date with Mr. Takaguchi in room 416, but you had better hurry-on home to your handsome man before the snow starts to pile up."

Laughing lightly at the playful wink Sana sent her, Sakura gave the nurse a quick wave goodbye before turning towards the door. Hand-warmers tucked under the palms of her gloves, Sakura tightened the straps on her bag and zipped up her coat before stepping out under the awning the shielded the small staff entrance from the weather. With the chaos of her unconventional workday over, Sakura could already feel herself longing desperately to be at home, snuggled up on the couch with a cup of spiced apple tea and her favorite man. Taking one last glance up at the dark skies, the young woman took a deep breath before entering the steady snow.

* * *

Hearing the call end and the bluetooth signal disconnect, Sasori spared a doubtful glance at the gray Konoha skies. He wasn't usually the type to worry about his companion, Sakura _was_ an adult after all, and he knew better than most that she was more than capable of taking care of herself. However, she had been called into the hospital for an emergency early that morning, and he couldn't help wondering if he should have pushed her a little more into accepting a ride home. It was true that the weather forecast hadn't predicted the chance of snow that morning, but December in Konohagakure was nothing if not fickle and the weather was known to turn on a dime.

Turning on the radio as he maneuvered his car down their street, Sasori listened carefully to the new weather update.

_"Well, folks, it looks like we have a fast-approaching storm system coming in from the northeast. Wind speeds have already started picking up to 20kmph and heavily snow should be soon to follow. The Hokage has already issued a statement urging residents to seek shelter before the storm hits and to avoid driving if they can until the roads are cleared tomorrow-"_

Sighing softly under his breath, Sasori turned into the inlet for their apartment complex's parking garage. Then, glancing at the dashboard clock as he waited for the metal garage door to finish its ascent, Sasori frowned. Sakura wasn't supposed to be getting off for another two hours and the storm would be in full-swing by then.

Grumbling under his breath about the stubborn woman, Sasori pulled into the parking garage and climbed to his parking spot on the fourth floor. Then, after backing the small sedan smoothly into its assigned spot, Sasori shut off his car and grabbed his work bag off the floor of the backseat. Locking the car behind him as he walked towards the stairwell, Sasori pulled out his phone to check if Sakura had texted him. Seeing nothing new, Sasori tucked the phone back into his coat pocket and swiftly made his way down towards the lobby. It was already starting to snow when he stepped into the lobby and, like any decent fiancé when a major storm was on its way, Sasori paused to shake the light dusting of snow off his hair and pull his phone out.

_"Storm's coming-on quick. Let me know."_ He wasn't really expecting a response, she was most likely either with a patient or ignoring her phone in order to focus on her work. He was surprised when his phone chimed soon after with her response.

_"Thanks, but I'm already on my way. Sana-san lent me some hand-warmers." _Well, at least she wouldn't come back shivering and hypothermic.

_"I refuse to marry a snow-woman."_

Sasori smirked the moment a kissy-face emoji popped up beside a snowflake. She could be so childish sometimes... but he loved her.

Slipping his phone back into his pocket, Sasori strode towards the stairwell and began the climb to the fifth floor. When he reached the landing, he slipped into the hallway and strode down the hall towards their apartment. Shifting the weight of his bag on his shoulder as he stopped in front of their shared apartment, Sasori pulled his keys out of his pocket before unlocking the door and letting himself into the dark living space.

After spending a moment feeling for the light switch beside the door, Sasori flicked on the lights and set about removing his shoes. He then slid his bag off his shoulder before stuffing his feet into his house slippers and venturing deeper into the apartment. A quick glance at his watch told him that he'd have at least twenty minutes until Sakura got back to the apartment, which was just enough time for him to get dinner started before she arrived.

A man on a mission, Sasori quickly deposited his work bag by their desk in the master bedroom before heading to the kitchen, stopping briefly to plug in the lights on the Christmas tree in the living room as he went. Flicking on the lights as he entered the kitchen, Sasori moved over to the sink to wash his hands before turning his attention to the refrigerator, his mind drifting to the busy pinkette on her way.

_"'Tempura?'"_

Rolling his eyes at his financée's love for fried foods, particularly shrimp, Sasori grabbed the package of thawed shrimp Sakura had been planning on making during her long vacation, along with the various other ingredients he would need for his lover's favorite meal. Setting his small bundle on the counter, Sasori dug a knife out of the silverware drawer and sliced open the package of shrimp. He then grabbed a bowl from one of the overhead cupboards and wrinkled his nose as he poured the prawn into the bowl, realizing only then that they would need to be de-shelled before he could cook them.

"The things I do for that woman," he said with a small sigh as he pulled one of the kitchen chairs over with his foot and settled himself down with the bowl of unpeeled shrimp beside the trashcan.

* * *

Sasori was just about to drop the small, breaded sea-morsels into the pot of boiling oil when he heard his phone chime from its place on the counter. For a moment, he considered ignoring it in favor of focusing on making dinner, but it had already been twenty minutes since he'd heard from Sakura, so perhaps it was her? Frowning, the red-head turned the heat on the stove down and wiped the same hand on towel he had slung over his shoulder earlier before picking the device up and unlocking it.

To his surprise and mild disappointment, it wasn't a text message from Sakura, but a calendar notification. Tomorrow was their five-year anniversary as a couple, the first that they would celebrate together since becoming engaged.

Setting the phone back down, Sasori returned his attention to frying the battered fishbait and getting dinner finished before Sakura walked in the door. It didn't take much focus, though, he'd made shrimp tempura on multiple occasions because it was Sakura's favorite food, just as she had grown accustomed to making chicken stew. And so, he found his mind drifting to when he'd first met the exuberant, pink-haired cardiothoracic surgeon.

It had been at a charity event for individuals, particularly children, who were in-need of prosthetics. His engineering firm had specialized in prosthetic limb technology research, development and manufacturing, he had only been there as a mechanic, though. His job had been to stay behind the scenes and make sure everything went smoothly and that their company's prototypes and demonstration models didn't malfunction. Realistically, he never should have had the chance to meet her.

But when one of the kids, whom he had recently helped fit for the prototype of a mechanical knee, fell and bent part of an exterior supporting rod, it was Sakura whom he had found sitting beside the inconsolable little boy and his frantic mother. And he'd thought she was beautiful from the moment he'd set eyes on her in her sleek teal blouse and fitted black dress pants, her hair pinned up in a smart bun. She hadn't even noticed him until he'd knelt down in front of them with his toolkit. She had been so focused on keeping the boy and his mother calm that she had hardly paid any attention to him at all while he examined the boy's leg.

After all had been said and done, and the boy's mother had apologized profusely for the five or ten minutes it had taken him to straighten out some of the bent metal and reassure the boy that it was all right, he had been more than prepared to return to his post when she stopped him with a gentle hand on his elbow. She had given him a once-over look, seemingly perplexed by his crisp, red dress shirt and slacks and the contrasting grease and oil that covered his gloves and a small part of his forearms. She hadn't been turned-off by his appearance though, just curious.

What he had liked the most, though, was that it had shown in her eyes.

He had, in some way or another, caught her interest and he would never forget how her green eyes had sparkled with curiosity and her endless amount of questions about his work. It had led them to having dinner together that very night, to him asking to see her again and her agreeing, time and time again, until they moved-in together and he put a ring on her finger. Now, three years, they were preparing for the rest of their lives together.

* * *

Breathing into the thick wool of her scarf, Sakura did her best to cover as much of her exposed face as she ducked out in to the growing storm outside. In reality, the walk from the hospital to apartment she and her fiancé shared wasn't far, located only a few blocks away from both of their workplaces in Center City Konoha, which is exactly why they had chosen it. Although, on days like today, when the wind blew so hard that the tears in her eyes made it nearly impossible to see and the snow was quickly piling up on the sidewalks, making the normally sensible fifteen-to-twenty minute walk was akin to tempting fate. Which Sakura, determined to return home and curl up in a thick sweater and the arms of her beloved, was fully prepared to do. However, after traversing nearly a block of snow-covered sidewalks and slick concrete, she paused when a strange noise reached her ears.

Standing silently for a few moments, Sakura listened hard for the strange sound. Her general rule-of-thumb was, if she heard a strange noise more than once, she would investigate. And when she _did _hear it again, it was so soft that she had almost missed it amidst the sounds of the wind blowing snow all around her, but it was there. A soft, high-pitched cry.

Suddenly alert, Sakura spun on her heel and back-tracked, green eyes searching desperately for the source of the noise. Feet moving as quietly as possible back towards the hospital, Sakura shut her eyes and urged herself to focus solely on the noises around her. It was difficult to hear anything over the rushing wind, but Sakura had already made her decision. Ignoring the baffled stares of a few passing strangers, Sakura came to halt in the middle of the walkway and closed her eyes.

The snow was cold and wet and heavy, and she was absolutely freezing; but, after standing in complete silence for several more seconds, Sakura just about cried in relief when she heard what she was looking for.

Head snapping to the side Sakura moved in the direction of the tiny cry, her heartbeat racing as the noise grew just a little louder. Fresh snow crunching under the thick soles of her boots, Sakura walked back towards the staff entrance to the hospital, stopping short to skirt around the corner of the parking garage kiosk. Looking around, she was just about to step further into the parking structure when the trashbin beside her squeaked. More specifically, the tiny, half-frozen and shivering creature hiding _behind_ the trashbin squeaked.

Eyes wide, Sakura immediately crouched down to inspect the little critter. Patches of dark fur clung to its body like a second skin while others stuck out in odd directions, the little layer of snow encasing most of its visible body and its slow movements indicating that it wouldn't be long before it froze to death in the growing blizzard. It broke Sakura's heart to see the helpless little kitten take a shy step away from her, its beautiful ember eyes dilated fearfully at the sight of a human as it attempted to hide further behind the trashcan. However, when she saw the glisten of dark red liquid stretch along one of the tiny animal's back legs, Sakura knew she couldn't leave it.

And so, ignoring better judgement, the pink-haired woman quickly, but carefully, scooped the weak kitten up and cradled its cold body against hers inside her coat. Then, slipping both of her hand-warmers into the glove that held the kitten, Sakura took one last glance at the tiny animal before taking off in a sprint towards her apartment.

* * *

Sasori chuckled to himself as he extracted the last of the golden-brown morsels from the cooking pot and set them in a festive serving dish, remembering vividly how Sakura had insisted that they buy it after he attempted to serve dinner using various containers because none where big enough to hold the entire meal.

After setting the lid over the container of shrimp and transporting it, along with the rice and vegetable components of their dinner, to the low table in the living room, Sasori quickly moved back into the kitchen to wash his hands. Then, after drying his hands on a clean dish towel, Sasori grabbed his phone off the counter and checked it once again for any new messages from Sakura. Seeing that the lock screen was still empty, and that it had been nearly forty-five minutes since she'd last texted him, Sasori frowned and headed towards the bedroom to change. She was running late and he was starting to get worried. In good weather, it took ten, maybe fifteen minutes to walk from their apartment to the hospital. In bad weather, like today, it took maybe thirty. _Never_ had it ever taken Sakura forty-five minutes to make it home.

Checking his phone one last time, Sasori stuffed his feet into his warm winter boots and quickly tightened the laces, his excitement for their long holiday weekend together diminishing more and more by the second. Ten minutes ago, he had been convinced that Sakura would walk in the door before he had finished making their dinner. Now, however, as he yanked his coat off the rack by the door and shoved his arms through the sleeves, he was simply trying to ignore the voice in his head that screaming that something was horribly wrong.

Gritting his teeth to fend off his growing anxiety, Sasori was just about to stuff his hands into his gloves when he heard a keys jingling. He paused in anticipation and a moment later, the sound of Sakura hastily cramming her keys into the doorknob shook him from his stupor. Kicking off his shoes and throwing his coat back onto a hook, Sasori grabbed the chrome-colored doorknob and pulled it open to reveal a rather frazzled and flushed Sakura. And, if the sight of his out-of-breath fiancée wasn't enough, clutched in her arms and held tightly to her chest was a small, shivering ball of dark gray fur.

"Sakura, what in the-" he began, eyes wide as his future wife stumbled inside and flopped herself down on the floor. He then watched as she proceeded to kick off her shoes and try to wiggle out of her coat, all while keeping the small creature huddled against her breast.

Still incredibly confused by her whirlwind of an entrance, Sasori carefully removed Sakura's keys from the lock before shutting the front door and marveling at the way his wife-to-be skillfully transferred the kitten from one arm to the other in order to worm her way out of her winter coat. It was only once she had finally freed herself that she noticed her beloved staring at her in a mixture of concern, confusion and amusement. After all, any anger or frustrations he felt about their peaceful and romantic evening being ruined by her extremely impulsive decision to rescue a kitten were completely and utterly annihilated when her panicked gaze and tense shoulders immediately relaxed upon seeing him.

Then, she launched into a long, rambling apology.

"I'm so sorry, Sasori! I know we don't have the time right now to take care it, but it was out in the cold and it's hurt and I couldn't just leave it!" she breathed, looking up at him with large, beseeching green eyes as he knelt down beside her and stared down at the tiny creature. Sakura swallowed thickly when she heard him give a sigh of defeat before he gently cupped her cheek and turned her head to face him.

"Sakura," he said softly, his gray eyes swimming with reluctant acceptance as he ran the pad of his thumb over her cheek, "I understand."

Despite her relief over his calm reaction, Sakura felt her chest tighten at the sight of Sasori's surrender to her recklessness. He gave her no time to argue, though, because a moment later, Sasori was pulling her to her feet and guiding her purposefully towards their bedroom. Once inside, Sasori moved away from her and over to their bathroom. He re-emerged with a pile of fresh towels not a moment later. He then sat himself on the carpet by the foot of their bed and arranged the plush blue towels in the form of a makeshift bed before motioning her to come over. Sitting down beside him, Sakura carefully lowered the tiny animal into the small sea of towels and sat back as Sasori set about gently trying to dry the kitten and warm it up.

A few moments of silence passed before he spoke, his attention still focused solely on the helpless little animal, "Call your Inuzuka friend. He's a vet, right?"

Nodding obediently, Sakura took one more glance at the pair sitting on the bedroom floor before getting up and leaving the room to fish her phone out of her coat and call Kiba.

* * *

**~Soooo, installment number two... thoughts?**

**It's a little shorter than the first, but it was important to end it here! Until next time!**

**~Smash**


	3. Chapter 3

**Posted: 10/19/2019**

* * *

Sasori let out a heavy sigh the second he was sure that Sakura was out of ear-shot.

He had seen the look in her eyes the moment he had relented to helping the kitten. They had had these conversations many times before, about how she gave too much of herself to others and asked for nothing in return. Whether it was letting one of her friends crash on their couch because they were too drunk to drive home or her having to cancel date night at the last minute or leave early from parties because of an emergency at the hospital - there were times that he hated how selfless she could be, but he also knew he would never tell her to stop either. She wouldn't be the woman he loved if she did. He did, however, tell her when it bothered him; and, judging by the small frown that had tugged at her lips and the guilt that had darkened in her normally brilliant gaze when she left their room, it was clear to him that she already knew how he felt.

Which is why he had asked her to go and call Inuzuka Kiba.

He _was_ upset and he needed a few seconds alone to cool his head and calm his nerves before he said something he regretted. After all, Sakura was happiest when she was able to help others, and it was one of things he loved the most about her. It would be foolish to let something as small as an injured kitten ruin everything they had worked so hard for.

Looking down at the helpless little ball of fur, Sasori felt his gaze soften slightly when the creature cracked open a pair of bright yellow eyes. Chuckling softly, Sasori gave the kitten's ear a gentle rub before whispering, "Sleep, little guy. She won't leave you alone if she sees you're awake."

* * *

Anxiously biting her lip, Sakura moved swiftly down the small hallway that led back towards the front door.

It didn't take much to know Sasori was upset, the slight pinch in his brow when she stumbled in with the kitten was enough for her to know he wasn't happy. She didn't regret saving the kitten, though, and she never would.

But that wasn't why he was upset.

_"Call your Inuzuka friend. He's a vet, right?"_

Letting out a soft sigh, Sakura came to a stop as she reached the small entryway to their apartment. Then, spotting her haphazardly discarded jacket lying a few meters away from her equally scattered-about boots and bag, Sakura bent down to scoop the semi-damp overcoat into her arms and fish her phone out of the insulated inside pocket. Unlocking the device with one hand, Sakura carefully hung the long coat on the rack beside her fiancé's before reaching down to collect her boots and set them down in their rightful place on the mat by the door. Opening her contacts list, she quickly scrolled through the list of names, her eyes scanning hastily until she found one "Inuzuka Kiba."

Breathing out a small sigh of relief, Sakura tapped the small picture of Kiba posing with a mechanical bull, the one that his sister had rented for his veterinarian school graduation party, and lifted the cellphone to her ear. After waiting through several rings of the dial tone and Kiba's iconic belch-filled personal voicemail, Sakura left him a quick message.

"Hey Kiba. It's Sakura. I found a kitten outside by the hospital. It's leg is hurt. Can you come by to look at it when you get back? Call me back if you get the chance. I'll see you soon."

Lowering the phone, Sakura ended the call and was about to head back towards the bedroom when she noticed a second set of hastily abandoned shoes lying by the door.

_'He must have been about to look for me.'_ She thought, smiling softly before bending down to pick up each of his boots and setting them aside properly. She then noticed a light on in the living room.

Curiosity getting the best of her, Sakura moved quietly into the small living space, her green eyes widening as she took in the sight.

The light she had seen was emanating from the perfectly arranged string lights that Sasori had spun around the small Christmas tree that they had set in the corner of the living room. And beneath the tree was a series of small gift-wrapped boxes, some from her fiancé and others from her long-distance friends, her parents, and his grandmother and cousins. Taking a few steps further into the room, Sakura felt tears prickle in the corners of her eyes and she gasped softly in surprise. Laid out on the low-table in the middle of their living room was the dinner that Sasori had left early from work to make just for her - shrimp tempura. He'd even had their bowls of rice and vegetables set out across from each other along with a large bottle of their favorite sake. Lifting a hand to muffle the start of her sniffles, Sakura felt her chest tighten at the sight of the dinner setting. He had even put the shrimp in the Christmas-themed serving bowl that she had forced him to buy last year after they had been forced to separate their meal into various small mis-matched containers, because that was all they had owned when they moved in together.

Biting her lip hard to keep herself from crying at his thoughtfulness, Sakura took a few steps closer to their cold dinner before kneeling down beside the table and using her sleeve to wipe away some of her tears. Then, reaching forward, Sakura lifted the lid to the container of tempura and carefully extracted one of the cold morsels.

He went out of his way to do all of this for her, and yet they couldn't even enjoy it because she had decided to bring home an injured kitten...

"You idiot," she said softly, gazing at the low-table tenderly for a moment before popping the slightly soggy treat into mouth and chewing.

It was cold and the breading was a little mushy, but it still was some of the best tempura she'd ever tasted. Because he had made it for her. And _only_ her.

Swallowing past the lump in her throat, Sakura felt something deep inside her chest clench and she bowed her head in shame.

Whether it was letting Ino or Naruto crash on their couch when they were too drunk to drive home or having to sacrifice their personal time together because she was needed at the hospital - Sasori never threw a fit like she would have. Instead, he was patient with her and continued to support her love of helping others, even though he was often the one who paid the price. And even when they _did_ talk about it, when he reached his limit or felt she had crossed a line, he never once asked her to stop.

_"I understand,"_ he would say.

And he really did.

But dear kami was she starting to hate those two simple words, ones which she had heard from him time and time again whenever she did something brash or reckless. They were words that he said to her because he wanted to support her in doing what made her happy - they were meant to be encouraging - but to her, at this point, his acceptance of her selfishness only made her feel worse. He even accepted her apologies, long-winded and rambling as they were, with a gentle smile and an affectionate gaze. Sometimes it made her want to scream.

Nevertheless, as she let her gaze travel around the living room, taking in all of the little touches and signs that her fiancé had put in extra effort to make this holiday season special for them both, she came to one firm conclusion.

She had taken his self-sacrificing nature for granted. Not anymore.

From now on, she was going to do better. Starting with tonight.

And so, lifting her head, Sakura looked at the dinner setting a second more before lifting the lid off of the red, snowman-spotted ceramic container and grabbing one of the empty serving bowls, filling it with the once-crispy shrimp. Then, rising to her feet, Sakura carried the bowl over to the kitchen along with a bowl of rice and vegetables, all of which she quickly covered and set inside the microwave to reheat. Leaving the food to heat-up, Sakura returned her attention to the rest of the food and alcohol sitting on the low-table and set about sealing the leftovers and placing them in the refrigerator to be eaten tomorrow. And, in her quest to stow away their missed dinner, Sakura caught sight of a second bottle of sake tucked behind the milk in the refrigerator door.

"I love that you're always so prepared," she said with a smile as she exchanged the bottles and shut the refrigerator door just in time for the microwave to buzz.

Setting the chilled bottle of sake on the counter, Sakura knelt down to pull the small serving tray that Ino had given to her back in college, the blonde had used it to surprise the pinkette with breakfast in bed the day after she took her national board exams. Then, after pulling the warm bowls out of the microwave and arranging them along with the bottle of sake, two drinking glasses and two pairs of chopsticks, Sakura picked up the tray and was just about to start her journey back towards the master bedroom when her phone rang.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Sakura set the tray back down on the kitchen counter and extracted her phone from her back pocket with a small grumble. However, as soon as she recognized the caller ID, Sakura immediately answered the call.

_"Hey, Sakura. I just got your message. I'm leaving the clinic, so I should be there soon. Can you tell me anything else about the kitten? Like, how old it is?"_

Humming softly, Sakura wandered away from the kitchen and into back into the small living area as she thought about her answer. By the time she answered, she found herself standing in front of the decorated evergreen tree that she and Sasori had picked out the other week. "It doesn't look very old, Kiba. It could probably fit in the palm of my hand. Also, one of its hind legs is hurt."

Hearing him mumbling softly to himself over the phone, Sakura crouched down gently touched one of the small ornaments hanging from a low-hanging branch, a small, red tool box that she had bought for Sasori during their first Christmas together. He had accused her of being cliché, but they both knew it was secretly his second favorite ornament on the tree.

_"Okay. I'll be there soon."_

A little surprised by his abruptness, Sakura simply said "okay" before the call ended and she was left squatting in front of her Christmas tree.

Running a tired hand through her tangled ponytail, Sakura was about to stand up when she caught sight of a tiny plastic stethoscope hanging on another branch - a Christmas gift from Sasori after she was promoted to the position of head cardiothoracic surgeon in the emergency department two years ago. Brushing a slim finger over the curve of the plastic bell, Sakura smiled softly, her heart warming at the memory until her eyes fell upon the pair of elegantly carved wooden figurines that hung nearby. This ornament had been gifted to them by Sasori's grandmother, Chiyo-sama, the former director of Suna Medical Center and the most gifted wood-worker Sakura had ever met. It was also their all-time favorite ornament.

Per tradition, they had hung the ornament front and center on the tree, hanging at eye-level by the sleek gold ribbon. It was a hand-carved wooden portrait that Chiyo had made of the two of them using the woman's favorite picture of the couple - one which the pair had kept framed and hung on the wall by the front door ever since it was given to them. The picture had been taken a few weeks after her birthday two years ago, on a particularly beautiful day in the early spring. She and Ino had been out on a walk during a long break between research meetings when they ran into Sasori and Shikamaru on their way to the hospital. As it were, there had been a small accident at the engineers' lab that resulted in the Nara receiving a second-degree burn on his forearm and Sasori dragging the man's lazy butt to the hospital. The two women had taken a good look at the Nara's arm before agreeing with the redhead's decision and pushing the reluctant man in the direction of their workplace, each offering a veiled threat that they would know if he _didn't_ go.

And then, as soon as Shikamaru was sent on his way, Sakura had moved on to fuss over her then-boyfriend, stubbornly ignoring his protests that despite some of the red patches of skin on his hands and forearms he was fine. She, on the other hand, had forcibly rolled his sleeves up to his elbows and turned his hands over multiple times just to make sure that he was telling the truth. After that, she had taken his face in her hands and turned it from side to side, fawning over him for several minutes before he took hold of her worrying hands and silenced her multitude of questions with a kiss. Looking back on the memory, it was adorable, but it hadn't been until later in the day that she'd found out that Ino had recorded the entire exchange as a video on her phone - and that the woman was happily sharing it amongst their colleagues in the ED.

It took a few more days for her to find out that Sasori had secretly sent the video to his grandmother, whom was tech-savvy enough to isolate one of the most beautiful and romantic pictures Sakura had ever taken with Sasori - the kind that she knew Sasori never would have knowingly posed for. Looking up from the expertly crafted ornament, Sakura's gaze moved across the room towards the beloved photo and she couldn't help but smile. Surprisingly, the famed photograph wasn't of their kiss, but of the moment immediately after, when Sasori had rested his forehead against hers and smiled that beautiful smile of his just for her.

Suddenly, she longed to be with him.

And so, without another thought, Sakura moved back into the kitchen to grab the tv tray, thankful that their food hadn't gone cold _again_, before heading straight back down the short hallway that led to their bedroom.

* * *

Hearing her soft footsteps approaching, Sasori lifted the now-dry but still fussy kitten into his arms and turned to face the doorway, his back resting against the foot of their bed as she entered the room. Choosing not to look up from the kitten, Sasori waited quietly for her to join him. And when she finally did, he didn't speak, and he didn't move when she rested her head on his shoulder. However, when she carefully set down a tray of food down on the floor beside them - food that he had made for their dinner - he tilted his head in her direction, indicating that she at least had his attention.

It wasn't until she spoke, though, her tone soft and shaky, that he focused his slate-colored eyes on her. He was mildly surprised to see that she was trying her hardest hold back tears.

Nevertheless, Sakura looked up at him and whispered, "I'm so sorry, Sasori."

Predictably, he stayed silent for a moment, waiting to hear what else she had to say before responding. Smiling gratefully at him, Sakura lowered her gaze for a moment and sighed, "the dinner that you made, the Christmas tree... Sasori, it's all so beautiful and perfect... I... I'm so sorry."

Feeling his chest tighten as some of her tears fell on his shoulder, Sasori carefully supported the kitten with one hand before raising the other to gently wipe away the few tears that were running down her cheeks. Then, just as he was about to turn and press a soft kiss on the crown of her head, she continued.

"I... really don't deserve you, Sasori."

That made him pause.

Frowning slightly, Sasori was about to protest, when Sakura sat upright and glared at him through her tears, her expression telling him very clearly to just shut up and listen as she tried speak without choking on her tears. He obeyed wordlessly, watching closely as she wiped furiously at her tears and took a few deep breaths. Then, after several seconds of expectant silence, it seemed like she was calm enough to finish speaking without being interrupted by sniffles.

However, what came out of her mouth was not what he had been expecting.

"Why are you always so calm about this, Sasori?" Sakura asked. "I never think about my actions and I'm always inconveniencing us in order to help someone else... I'm always hurting you and ignoring your feelings... I'm being so selfish and yet... you still love me and you still support me ... _WHY?_"

Blinking slightly at the tone of her voice, a strange mix between disbelief and accusing, Sasori took a moment to take in the sight of his fiancée, his gray eyes tracing over every detail of her facial expression, from the wrinkle in her brow to the slight quiver of her lower lip. He could see the guilt and despair clouding her normally vibrant eyes, the tense set of her shoulders and the hands trembling in her lap. It was obvious to him that she was just barely holding it together. All because she wanted to hear what he had to say - because that was the type of person she was.

Letting out a soft sigh, Sasori knew there was only one way to prevent his love from dissolving into tears within the next few minutes. So, as he gently laid the swaddled kitten in his lap, he turned towards his bride-to-be and raised his free hand to cup her cheek. He wiped away a few stray tears with his thumb before leaning down to touch his forehead to hers. Holding her anxious green-apple gaze, he spoke softly and slowly, "I love you, Sakura. I love your desire to help others, to put your family and precious friends first, and that always try to make things up to me."

Sakura stared helplessly up at her lover, her chest tightening and fresh tears leaking from her eyes as Sasori continued.

"There are so many words I can think of to describe you, Sakura," he said as he stroked her cheek tenderly, "but 'selfish' is certainly not one of them."

"But-"

"If anything, _I_ am the selfish one in this relationship."

Pulling away from him slightly, Sakura made another attempt to protest, "But-"

Sasori glared pointedly at the pinkette before reaching out again and pressing his index finger firmly against her lips. "It's the truth, Sakura."

He smiled faintly when she frowned at him. Apparently she was the only one allowed to be selfish.

However, before she could pull away and try to argue his words, Sasori placed his entire hand over her mouth and spoke honestly.

"I wish that I didn't have to share you, Sakura. I wish I could keep all of your love and your passion," he smiled, "_and_ your anger to myself."

Eyes wide, Sakura stared at the man before her in surprise. Never, had she imagined he would say such words to her. And she had no idea what to say in response.

Sasori, on the other hand, found her speechlessness adorable and, seeing her now on the brink of bursting into happy tears, he removed his hand from her mouth and instead opened his arm to let her come closer and curl up against his side. Once she was settled, Sasori chuckled softly and continued where he'd left off.

"And it's more than that, you know," he said, leaning over so that he could kiss her forehead gently before he continued, "I've always admired how genuine you are and how you aren't afraid to act like a child from time-to-time."

Leaning down further, Sasori graced his blushing, crying, sniffling fiancée with a quick peck on the nose before resumed his praise, "I love that you aren't afraid to speak your mind _or_ to yell at me when I'm being a moron."

Giggling softly, Sakura cracked a small smile as she laid her head on Sasori's shoulder and continued to listen to his gentle voice.

Sasori, on the other hand, smiled slightly at the sound of her quiet, tinkling laughter. And so, in hopes of encouraging her better mood, Sasori gave her a small, one-armed squeeze before looking her in the eyes grinning. Then, he asked softly, "And do you know what I love the most about you?"

Eyes wide, Sakura smiled shyly up at him and replied, "What?"

Leaning down to gently touch nuzzle her nose and rest his forehead against hers, Sasori answered honestly.

"What I love the most about you is that even when you give so much of yourself to others, you save _this_ \- your fears and insecurities - for me. I'm grateful that you trust me enough to let me hold you and talk you through moments like this."

Watching as her eyes grew incredibly wide, Sasori smiled gently and gave her a light kiss on the lips before looking down at the ball of fur laying in his lap and adding softly, "Beside, if I can't support your efforts to rescue an _injured kitten_, I don't deserve to have you for the rest of my life, Sakura."

Cheeks pink and her eyes dry and puffy from crying, Sakura leaned up and captured his lips in a soft kiss. When they parted, she smiled lovingly at him before snuggling closer and whispering, "Thank you, Sasori."

Smiling down at her, Sasori gave her side a small squeeze before redirecting his attention to the kitten that was fast asleep in the towel in his lap. However, before he could open his mouth and properly address the fact that they really didn't have the time to raise a kitten, there was a knock in the door. And, much to his amusement, Sakura grumbled unenthusiastically about Inuzukas with crappy timing.

"Here," he said with a soft chuckle as he lifted the kitten up off his lap and placed it in Sakura's arms, "I'll get the door."

Smiling gratefully up at the redhead, Sakura waved her fiancé away before turning her attention to the dazed little critter in her arms. He must have woken up when Sasori picked him up. Reaching down with a single finger, Sakura cooed softly at the adorable little fluffball when he mewed softly in protest to being awoken. Then, after watching the kitten willingly sniff the tip of her finger and let her rub his fuzzy head, Sasori knew there was no turning back.

It was official. She was in love.

* * *

**Sorry, this one is also a little short, but... perhaps the cuteness will be enough to make-up for the shorter length?**

**Let me know!**

**~Smash**


	4. Chapter 4

**~An extra-long chapter for you all since I've been away for a while (and might be gone for a while again)!**

**Posted: 11/29/2019**

* * *

_"Hey Kiba. It's Sakura. I found a kitten outside by the hospital. Its leg is hurt. Can you come by to look at it when you get back? Call me back if you get the chance. Thanks, bye."_

Blinking owlishly, Inuzuka Kiba lowered his cellphone from his ear and stared at the LED screen for a few seconds as the pre-recorded voicemail system asked him if wanted to delete the message, save it in the archives or hear more options.

_'Sakura... rescued a kitten?'_

Looking out the window of his family's animal hospital, Kiba raised an eyebrow curiously at the howling winds and rapidly-accumulating snow. _'In this weather?'_

"Well, we always did say she was special."

Glancing up from the smartphone clutched in his gloved hand, Kiba caught sight of his older sister, Hana, emerging from a treatment room with her hands stuffed her pockets and amused grin playing on her lips.

Kiba rolled his eyes good-naturedly at his sister's joke and was just about to retort when the female voice of his voicemail rudely interrupted him, "I'm sorry, please select an option or hang up the phone."

The younger Inuzuka glared sourly at the mobile device before giving the red "end call" button an aggressive tap while his sister cackled loudly from her place beside the receptionist counter.

"Oh, come now, she was just trying to be helpful," Hana teased, sending her little brother a toothy smile before walking over to join him by the window. "You should go," she said, her lips drawn into a small frown as she watched the storm continue to rage outside, "before this storm gets any worse."

Nodding his agreement, Kiba turned away from the window with his sister and walked back towards the staff exit. Then, after bidding the overnight office staff farewell, the young veterinarian turned towards the older Inuzuka woman once more. Prepared to make a wise-cracking joke about the "lovely" weather they were having, Kiba paused when he noticed the genuine look of concern in his sister's eyes as she stared out the back door at the heavy snowfall. However, before he had the chance to lighten the mood, she pinned him with a serious stare and spoke sternly, "You had better text me the moment you get to your apartment."

Reaching out, Kiba gently placed his hand on his sister's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I will. I promise."

His sister watched him for a moment longer before, in a rare display of sibling affection, she cuffed him lightly on the shoulder and pushed him away with a grin. "Saa, since when did you become mature enough to comfort me, you little brat?"

Chuckling softly, as her words lacked any hint of animosity, Kiba let himself get pushed around for a little bit before tightening his grip on his supplies bag and righting himself by the door. Then, after offering his sister a small salute, the Inuzuka man pushed on the door and ducked out into the snowstorm.

Once he was outside, Kiba made a mad dash across the snow-covered parking lot towards his pick-up truck, his thumb smashing the button on his key fob to unlock the vehicle. He let out a happy cry when orange parking lights flashed from the nose of his maroon pick-up truck and the soft thunk of the cars doors unlocking penetrated the blizzard. Then, after a few moments spent yanking the half-frozen driver's-side door open and throwing his bag into the passenger seat, Kiba climbed into his truck and swiftly shut the door behind him. Letting out a heavy sigh, Kiba carefully shook the snow from his head before jamming his car keys into the ignition and staring up the truck. A few seconds later, he flipped the temperature control dial to heat and cranked the fan up to its highest setting.

Looking out at the pristine snowscape that had once been the staff parking lot as he waited for the temperature inside his trunk to become less frigid, Kiba found himself questioning, once again, just _how_ Sakura had managed to find a small kitten amidst a storm like this. Then again, if he had to choose, the most likely person to accomplish such a feat _would in fact_ be one Haruno Sakura.

Then it occurred to him, "Ah, I should probably call her back."

Shifting awkwardly in his thick winter coat to reach the phone in his back pocket, it took a few seconds before Kiba was able to grasp the device and open it to the call screen. Then, tapping on the small photo of Sakura, he raised the cellphone to his ear and waited for her to answer.

It didn't take long. She answered after the first ring.

_"Kiba!"_

Smiling faintly at her enthusiasm, Kiba replied, "Hey, Sakura. I just got your message. I'm leaving the clinic, so I should be there soon."

Casting a brief glance at the digital clock on his dashboard, he continued, "Can you tell me anything else about the kitten? Like, how old it is?"

_"It doesn't look very old, Kiba. It could probably fit in the palm of my hand."_

Dark brown eyes widened.

The palm of her hand?!

Lifting his free hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, Kiba resisted the urge to groan as he tried to picture the size of the kitten.

"The palm of her hand... Kami, that's so small," he mumbled to himself as he absently watched the snow continue to fall outside, his mind drifting back in time to the found a box of abandoned kittens he, Sakura and Sasuke had found on their walk home from school.

They had been so small and so cute... but they couldn't be saved.

Sitting back, Kiba sighed and closed his eyes.

Tiny animals don't typically survive snowstorms, regardless of which selfless pink-haired surgeon rescues them.

_'But... maybe this one will be different.'_

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Kiba rubbed his face tiredly before leaning over to do a quick inventory of the supplies in his medical bag.

_'Maybe this time... I can actually save it.'_

Satisfied that he had what he needed, Kiba quickly zipped the bag shut and straightened himself in his seat. Then, as he pulled the seatbelt across his body and clicked it in place, he glanced towards the main road and said abruptly, "Okay, I'll be there soon."

He waited for her soft, _"okay,"_ before hanging up and shoving his phone into the nearest cupholder. Then, after silently praising Kami that his dad had convinced him to put the chains on his tires at lunchtime, the veterinarian pulled onto the car-less half-plowed street and smiled. Maybe this drive won't be such a nightmare after all.

* * *

Staring at the blinking traffic light and the various people standing scattered about on the snow-covered road ahead, Kiba groaned, "I should have kept my mouth shut."

_'So much for getting there soon,'_ he thought grouchily as he watched the helpless group before him struggle to push their cars through the thick slush.

"They'd have better luck just waiting in their cars," he said with a sigh, knowing that there was no way he'd be going anywhere until someone from the Konohagakure Department of Transportation showed up to dig them out.

Leaning his head back against the headrest of his seat, Kiba closed his eyes and yawned.

If this was going to take a while, he might as well take a nap.

Mercifully, it seemed like the majority of Konoha's citizens had heeded their Hokage's warning and took shelter inside before the storm hit, because ten minutes later, Kiba heard the faithful horn of a KDOT* plow truck breach the silence, followed by the obnoxious blue glow of the Roto-Ray perched atop an accompanying tow truck.

Sitting up straighter, Kiba gave a yawn and small stretch before rejoicing at the sight of the stuck cars being moved out of the way.

Luckily, the rest of the trip home was a breeze and, after texting his sister and parents that he'd made it back in one piece, the young veterinarian grabbed his equipment bag from the passenger seat and dashed towards the entrance to Konoha Heights Apartment Complex.

Five minutes and five flights of stairs later, a frazzled and out of breath Kiba Inuzuka stopped in front of the apartment his pink-haired friend shared with her intimidating fiancé and paused to catch his breath. Then, once he was confident that he wasn't about to pass out or trip over his own feet, he knocked.

Then he waited.

It had taken him longer to get back to the apartment than he had anticipated, and just the thought of having the tiny wounded kitten's treatment delayed almost two hours since Sakura had called him was making him anxious.

Thankfully, it wasn't long before he heard the sound of footsteps approaching the door. Then, a moment later, the door opened to reveal not Sakura but Sasori, dressed casually in a pair of dark gray sweatpants and red long-sleeved shirt.

Suddenly, Kiba felt his mouth go dry, but before he could even offer the stoic man an awkward greeting, the redhead stepped back and motioned for him to enter the apartment.

Eyebrow raised and cheeks still slightly flushed - from running through the parking lot and up five flights of stairs, of course - Kiba obeyed quietly. Then, after removing his shoes by the door, he followed after the redhead as he led the way towards the bedroom.

And there he found a frizzy-haired Sakura sitting beside the floor lamp just inside the door with a towel-swaddled kitten in her arms.

She looked up when she heard the men approach.

"Kiba!" she sounded so relieved that Kiba couldn't help but smile. However, the light-heartened atmosphere disappeared quickly when Kiba noticed just how tiny the animal was.

Frowning, Kiba rushed over to Sakura's side and set down his bag. Pulling a pair of examination gloves out of his pocket and onto his hands, Kiba gently took the kitten from Sakura's arms before beginning his assessment. As he worked, he asked quietly, "how long ago did you find him, Sakura?"

"About two and half hours ago. We've been using soft towels to dry his fur and warm him up." Watching closely as Kiba cradled the kitten in one hand and reached into his medical bag with the other, she added, "He fell asleep about fifteen minutes ago."

Kiba nodded, his attention focused on entirely on the tiny creature as he pulled out his stethoscope. "How did you even find him?"

"I was walking home and I heard him crying from behind a trashcan near the hospital parking garage."

Frowning slightly, Kiba gently handed the kitten back to Sakura and secured the stethoscope earpieces in his ears. Then, after rubbing the bell gently to warm it up, he set it on the kitten's chest to listen to its heart and lungs.

He was relieved to hear nothing abnormal, but there were still a lot of questions to be answered.

Sitting back, Kiba removed the stethoscope and set it down before turning back towards his bag.

"Was he alone? Did he try to fight you?"

Shaking her head gently, Sakura reached down and gently rubbed small circles on the kitten's furry head, smiling softly when it leaned into her touch slightly. "No, he was alone when I found him and he didn't try to fight me, only hide."

Kiba smiled at the sight of his best friend doting on the kitten. Then, after pulling a few squares of gauze, a small vile of clear liquid and a packaged syringe out of his bag, he took the kitten into his arms again and addressed the anxious pinkette. "Do you mind grabbing me a bowl of water and a clean wash cloth? I want to clean this wound before I stitch him up."

Silently grateful that Kiba was giving her something to do as a distraction, Sakura nodded and rose to her feet. Then, after stopping in the doorway to glance back at the young veterinarian and his tiny patient, she headed straight for the kitchen.

It didn't take her very long to find what she was looking for (it _was_ her apartment after all) and within a few minutes, she was already walking back towards the master bedroom with a bowl of water and a wash cloth in her hands. However she had only made it halfway down the hall when she ran into Sasori whom, to her surprise, was pulling fresh towels and pajamas out the of clothes drier located in the hall closet.

Raising an eyebrow, Sakura moved to stand beside him.

"Are you... doing laundry right now?" she asked incredulously. Then, glancing at her wristwatch, she added, "at 8:30pm?"

Silently, Sasori pulled the last towel out of the machine and laid it over his arm before shutting the drier door and standing upright. Then, after picking a few other items out of laundry basket and adding them to the small bundle in his arms, he turned towards his bemused fiancée and spoke.

"Shower."

Sakura's gaze moved slowly from his face to the small pile of clothes that he was now holding out to her and back again. The concern in his grey eyes made her chest warm with appreciation; and soon, she was trading the bowl of lukewarm water and cloth in her hands for the fresh set of pajamas in his. Then, clutching the clothes to her chest, Sakura stood up on her toes and pressed a quick kiss to Sasori's cheek before slipping away and into the hall bathroom.

"Thank you, Sasori."

* * *

"So, what's the verdict?"

Sasori's eyes quickly found those of the curious veterinarian who was sitting on his bedroom floor and he sighed.

"Don't ask stupid questions, Inuzuka-san," he said as he handed the bowl of water and wash cloth to the doctor and took a seat on the carpet beside him. "You and I both know that she's already decided to keep it."

Kiba smirked as the redhead sighed in defeat. Then, after dampening the corner of the fabric and setting to work on the kitten's leg wound, Kiba chuckled.

"And, of course, you have no intentions of opposing her decision."

Gray eyes slid sideways to glare at the brunette. Sasori already knew where this conversation was going.

"Inuzuka-san," he said calmly, "shut up before you say something stupid."

Eyeing the proud engineer sitting beside him, Kiba paused long enough in his work to grin mischievously.

"Dude, you're so whipped."

Sasori rolled his eyes.

"I am not."

This time, Kiba stared at him like he was an idiot, to which Sasori scowled.

"Fine," said the veterinarian, rolling his eyes as he set the wash cloth aside and reached for a piece of gauze, "you aren't whipped; but, seriously, have you ever said 'no' to her when she's asked for a piggy-back ride?"

Folding his arms over his chest, Sasori leaned his head back against the wall and prepared himself for the same long and drawn-out conversation he had with most of the people in his and Sakura's lives.

"No, I have not."

"And what about those cheesy, cliché romance movies that she loves to watch? Have you ever told her to pick a different movie?"

Sasori sighed, "No, I have not."

"Do you still let her give you the occasional mani-pedi?" Kiba asked as he picked up his suture kit and leaned down to get a closer look at the wound on the kitten's leg.

"Yes."

The brunette snickered softly, much to his companion's annoyance, before dealing the final blow.

"So... when should I expect to receive the customary holiday card? The theme this year is 'ugly Christmas sweaters,' right?"

Sasori growled softly at the shit eating grin on the Inuzuka's face. "She put them in the mail yesterday."

Kiba let out a bark of laughter as he tied off the suture material and sat up right again. Then, after cutting the left over length free and safely stowing away his tools, the younger man carefully bandaged the healing leg and set the tiny animal back down in the sea of towels to rest. He recorded one last set of vitals on the kitten before tucking away his equipment and turning to observe Sasori. This time, as one of Sakura's childhood best friends, not the couple's on-call veterinarian.

A moment of silence passed between them before Kiba gave the redhead a nod and a genuine smile.

"Take good care of her, okay?"

Sasori smiled faintly and bowed slightly to the other man.

"I will."

* * *

Stepping out of the warm bathroom with a towel draped around her shoulders and her favorite pair of fuzzy purple slippers covering her feet, Sakura let out a content sigh. The shower that Sasori had forced her to take had done its job and, now that she wasn't being weighed down by freezing-cold and sopping-wet clothing, she felt worlds better than before.

Taking a peek at the time on her phone, Sakura began her short journey back down the hallway towards the master bedroom, stopping briefly by the washing machine and dryer to add her drenched and dirtied clothes to the recently-started load of laundry in the washer. Then, as she grabbed the laundry basket full of clean and folded clothes that Sasori had left on top of the dryer, she couldn't help but think that it was unusually quiet in the apartment.

"So, have you given it some thought?"

"You mean about the wedding?"

One pink eyebrow rose with curiosity as Sakura came to an abrupt halt outside the bedroom door.

"Yes, Sakura wants to start planning for it, so I will need your answer sometime soon."

Leaning in close, Sakura held her breath as she waited for Kiba's response. It was true that she had mentioned to Sasori that she wanted to start making plans for their wedding, but she hadn't talked to anyone else about it yet, because they still hadn't even sent out an engagement announcement. So, it seemed odd to her that Sasori would be discussing it with Kiba.

"Did you tell her that you asked me?"

Slowly growing more and more confused by the second, and a little upset that she was being kept in the dark, Sakura waited patiently for Sasori's answer.

"I was planning to tell her once you agreed to it."

Her raised eyebrow was joined by the other and she could only imagine that the look of confusion on Kiba's face matched her own as he spoke. "Fine, but I still don't understand this. Why you're asking me? Shouldn't you be asking someone who is more important to you?"

Unsurprisingly, Sasori was silent for a moment, considering his words before he answered honestly, "Her parents... want her to have a traditional wedding."

"Oh..." Kiba said softly, sounding a little defeated. "Yeah, I'm not really surprised by that; but, are you sure that you're okay with this? I mean, it's _your_ wedding, too. You are allowed to have a say in these things, you know."

Sakura smiled softly at Kiba's words; and, even though she still had no idea what they were talking about, she was suddenly very grateful that she hadn't interrupted them.

"Thank you for your concern, Inuzuka-san, I appreciate it," came Sasori's calm response, "but, I am also asking for myself. I would like for you to be a part of our wedding."

Quickly slapping a hand over her mouth to muffle her surprised gasp, Sakura nearly dropped the laundry basket in her arms.

"So, will you be one of my groomsmen?"

* * *

There was a pregnant pause before Kiba smiled and held his hand out towards Sasori.

"It would be my honor, Sasori-san."

The redhead accepted the handshake with a smile. "Thank you, Inuzuka-san."

Then, both men turned their attention towards the open bedroom door and the excited woman peeking around it. They smirked when she had the courtesy to be embarrassed about getting caught.

"If you're both done with your heart-to-heart... I'd like to hug you..."

Not a moment after Sasori moved the kitten and its makeshift bed out of harms way, Kiba opened his arms wide and grinned as Sakura dash around the bedroom door, dropped to her knees and threw her arms around him.

Kiba let out a hearty laugh as the petite woman bowled into him, her momentum nearly knocking them both over while Sasori looked on in amusement.

"You said _'hug,'_ not body-slam, Haruno!" Kiba teased, squeezing the pink-haired bride-to-be tightly as he sat them both upright again.

Hugging the brunette just as tightly, Sakura pulled away long enough to offer him a watery smile and a soft, "Thank you, Kiba," before dragging him in for a second hug.

Kiba chuckled softly, rubbing her back gently with one hand as he replied, "You're welcome, Sakura."

A few seconds passed before Sakura had her sniffles under control. Then, pulling away from her best friend, she turned her attention to the man sitting a little ways away.

"And you..." she said in mock-accusation, her face alight with a brilliant smile as she crawled over to him, "You... have some explaining to do."

Sasori chuckled softly at her, a gentle smile playing on his lips as she snuggled in close to his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Thank you, Sasori," she whispered, burying her face in the side of his neck as a fresh set of happy tears gathered in her eyes. "Thank you so much."

Stroking the back of her head gently, Sasori smiled down at the woman in his arms and whispered back, "Anything for you, Sakura."

Meanwhile, across the room, Kiba smiled at the sight of his best friend so happily in-love. She deserved to be happy, and she deserved to have someone in her life who adored her as much as Sasori obviously did.

And so, Kiba deliberately looked away from the couple and pretended to busy himself with checking his medical bag and packing away his stethoscope in order to give the lovebirds a moment of privacy.

He was in the middle of his third inventory check when his cell phone went off. Kiba shot Sakura and Sasori an apologetic glance before scooping up the device and accepting the video call.

Immediately, the pleasant silence in the room was interrupted by the shouts of an unusually aggravated Aburame Shino.

_"INUZUKA KIBA, I SWEAR TO KAMI IF YOU AREN'T HOME IN FIFTEEN MINUTES - Oh, good evening, Sakura-san, Sasori-san."_

Sakura resisted the urge to laugh as she watched her friend fumble with his phone in the face of his angry lover before desperately angling the camera in their direction.

"Good evening, Shino-san," she said with a small wave while Sasori nodded his greeting to the man.

_"I apologize for interrupting your evening,"_ Shino said politely, _"please forgive my shouting, I thought Kiba was by himself."_

Sakura smiled at the man and shook her head, "It is quite alright, I apologize for keeping Kiba so late, we had a small emergency and needed his help."

Kiba maneuvered the phone so that his boyfriend could see the small kitten lying amongst the pile of towels beside Sakura and Sasori.

_"Ah, yes, Hana-san told me about the kitten when I called the clinic."_ Once he was angled away from the tiny animal and back towards the couple, the entomologist continued, _"I am glad that he was able to lend a hand, Sakura-san. However, it is late and Akamaru is getting restless without Kiba here."_

Sakura smiled apologetically as, as if summoned by the mention of his name, Akamaru climbed onto Shino and into the frame of the phone camera. "I'm sorry, Shino-san, Akamaru; Kiba should be home very soon."

The trio then watched Shino fend the large white dog off long enough to bid the couple a good night and sternly tell his lover to hurry home before hanging up. Then, almost immediately after the image of the beetle researcher disappeared from the phone screen, Sakura shot Kiba an unhappy frown.

"I can't believe you forgot to tell him that you were here!" she scolded him as she and Sasori rose to their feet along with the veterinarian. "No wonder he was so upset. He must have been so worried about you!"

"I know, I know, but I'm still not used to having someone waiting for me to come home." Kiba said with a sigh, slinging his medical bag over his shoulder before following the couple back into the living room. "I'll make it up to him with dinner or something."

Shaking her head slightly at her friend, Sakura offered the man a better plan as he slipped out of the borrowed house slippers and into his own wet shoes. "There is an exotic butterfly and beetle exhibit coming to the museum in the Spring, take him there and then somewhere nicer than Ichiraku's for dinner."

Kiba smiled, grateful for the advice, before opening his arms for one last hug, because he knew Sakura wouldn't let him leave without one.

"Thank you again for you help, Kiba," she said as she stepped into his arms for a quick embrace.

"It's really no problem, Sakura," he said reassuringly. When he pulled away, he turned towards Sasori. "I've got some samples of kitten food in my apartment, so I'll drop by again tomorrow morning to give it to you guys along with some medicine for the little guy."

Sasori nodded in understanding. Then, after another round of goodbyes, the Inuzuka veterinarian was gone, leaving the redhead alone with a very curious emerald-eyed doctor.

"What?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at the petite woman as she stared at him expectantly.

"When did you first ask Kiba to be one of your groomsmen?" she asked, her arms folded over her chest as she looked up at him from her place beside the door.

"About a month ago," Sasori replied, kneeling down to pick up and put away the house slippers that Kiba had borrowed.

"When?" Sakura asked, almost accusingly as she stared down at the top of his red head. "We didn't even see Kiba last month. And there's no way you asked him that over the phone... right?"

Looking up, Sasori watched with quiet amusement as her delicate brow furrowed and she tried to figure out how he'd managed to sneak this by her. When a small, frustrated frown began to pull at her lips, Sasori shook his head and stood.

She was thinking too hard about this.

"It was five weeks ago," he said, reaching up to place his hands on her tense shoulders and pull her gently into his arms. "I went to the kennel that he volunteers at on the weekends. You were on-call at the hospital."

Sakura's eye widened.

"Really?"

Sasori nodded.

"But the two of you aren't even that close," she said bluntly, her gaze filled with skepticism as she stared up at his calm expression, "why would you make him one of your groomsmen over another one of your friends?"

Sasori held her gaze steadily. Then, as he leaned down and rested his forehead against Sakura's, he spoke.

"You want him to be in our wedding, Sakura; but, that can't happen if we have the traditional ceremony that your parents want, right?" When she nodded, he continued, "So, I went and asked him to be a part of my wedding party because I know your parents won't agree to him being in yours."

Lips parting in surprise, Sakura found herself at a loss for words. Thankfully, before she could even attempt to stumble through another 'thank you,' Sasori continued his story with a chuckle.

"He told me that I needed to prove my worth before he'd willingly wear a monkey suit for me," he said with a small smirk on his lips, "then he handed me a change of clothes and assigned me to dog-walking and giving baths."

Gray eyes glittered with amusement at the memory of Kiba's response while Sakura giggled at the thought of her fiancé getting jumped on by the excited rescues at the volunteer kennel. Then, as she reached up to drape her arms around Sasori's neck, she grinned teasingly, "So... I guess you could say... he worked you like a dog, huh?"

Rolling his eyes, Sasori wrapped his arms Sakura's waist and pulled her in close. Then, nuzzling her cheek as she giggled, he chuckled. "What am I to do with you..."

* * *

***KDOT = Konoha Department of Transportation**

****I know nothing about veterinary medicine**

*****Yes, Kiba is gay, and I kind of love it.**

******Please remember that this is a AU, that characters might be OOC (because I am a hopeless romantic), and that I do not update frequently.**

**In the words of Kakashi... "Yo."**

**I'm sorry that I've been away for so long! Graduate school is reeeeeally demanding and I've hardly had time to eat, sleep and bathe, let alone write fanfiction.**

**Anyways, I'm currently avoiding my responsibilities for a short while to post this all for you before I get swamped with coursework again. I also figured that I would grace you all with a longer chapter, because I couldn't find a good place to end it.**

**Also, honestly, I re-wrote this chapter more times than I can count because I was trying to keep it light-hearted.**

**Alsoooo, I updated all of the other chapters as well!**

** Everything else aside, it's been a long time since I've written anything, so please let me know what you think! Feedback always helps!**

**Thank you all, as always, for all the support :)**

**~ Smash**


End file.
